And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic

Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted

And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic

The story of the making of a classic and groundbreaking TV show, as experienced by its producers, writers, and cast.

When writer-producers James L. Brooks and Allan Burns dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, the CBS executives they pitched replied: “American audiences won’t tolerate divorce in a series’ lead any more than they will tolerate Jews, people with mustaches, and people who live in New York.”

Forty years later, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is one of the most beloved and recognizable television shows of all time. It was an inspiration to a generation of women who wanted to have it all in an era when everything seemed possible.

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted tells the stories behind the making of this popular classic, introducing the groundbreaking female writers who lent real-life stories to their TV scripts; the men who created the indelible characters; the lone woman network executive who cast the legendary ensemble—and advocated for this provocative show—and the colorful cast of actors who made it all work. James L. Brooks, Grant Tinker, Allan Burns, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Gavin MacLeod, Ed Asner, Ted Knight, Georgia Engel—they all came together to make a show that changed women’s lives and television itself. Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted is the tale of how they did it.

Praise

"Poor dead Chuckles the Clown might be squirting seltzer water down the angels’ robes, but as long as intelligent comedy has a role in our lives, the chuckles and change that The Mary Tyler Moore Show wrought will never die. And Armstrong, in this smart and charming history, shows us why."

– Richmond Times-Dispatch

"This is a wonderful book. It takes us backstage with a keen insight on the writing, directing and casting of one of the best television shows, ever. I didn't want it to end, any more than I wanted The Mary Tyler Moore Show to end."

– Carol Burnett, author of Carrie and Me

"I tried to skim this book, but failed miserably, finding I couldn't put it down. In case you're wondering how we got from I Love Lucy to Girls, the answer is: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, stupid! Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's deft weave of social history and sharp entertainment reporting explains how this revolutionary show made the world safe for Lena Dunham."

– Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

"Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted hurt my face. Jennifer Armstrong brought back memories and laughs from one of the best eras in television. She made me stay up all night and by the morning my face hurt from smiling. I forgive her because I enjoyed the book so much."

– Gail Parent, author of Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York

"Pop-culture gold: a can't-put-it-down history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the misfit genius women (and men) who made it. Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted is essential reading if you love The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or TV comedy wizards, or things that are awesome."

– Gavin Edwards, author of 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy

"Fast-paced and charming…Armstrong’s absorbing cultural history offers the first in-depth look at a series that changed television."

– Publishers Weekly

"Delicious… For any fan of the show or TV history in general, this book is pure pleasure."

– Kirkus (starred review)

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Book Reviews

Reading Group Guide

This reading group guide forMary and Lou and Rhoda and Tedincludes discussion questions and a Q&A with author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1.How does this book fit into the history of the 1970s overall?

2.How does it fit into the history of Hollywood?

3.What do you think it says about women on television?

4.Who was your favorite “character”?

5.What surprised you the most?

6.How has reading this book changed the way you think of The Mary Tyler Moore Show?

7.Mary Richards: Feminist or not?

8.Which episodes did it make you want to watch (again, or for the first time)?

9.Discuss women’s role in the workplace and in Hollywood during the 1970s. How has life changed for women since the beginning of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? How has it stayed the same?

10.How do you think Treva Silverman felt back when she was the only woman in the comedy writers’ rooms where she worked?

11.Do you think the female writers in the book would ever have made it in the TV business without James L. Brooks and Allan Burns?

Articles About This Book

When you look back at TV's first truly independent single girls in the city, The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern, one thing is clear: These ‘70s ladies took far less crap than the Hannahs and Mindys and Jesses of our...

About the Author

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly and the author of Why? Because We Still Like You, a history of the original Mickey Mouse Club. She has provided pop culture commentary for CNN, VH1, Fox News Channel, and ABC, and her writing has been featured in Salon, MTV.com, Glamour, Budget Travel, and the Chicago Sun-Times. She also cofounded and continues to run SirensMag.com, an alternative online women’s magazine.